Family's call sparks demand for sensors

JOHN BISSET/Fairfax NZ

SAFETY FIRST: Timaru Gas and Plumbing’s Don Ellis with one of the gas detectors that have been selling well after a coroner’s hearing last week into the death of Ian Joyce, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in the family’s caravan in 2010.

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The Joyce family could be called heroes for the lives they may have saved.

Timaru retailers said yesterday that in the past couple of days they have fielded many calls about carbon monoxide sensors.

The surge in calls comes after the Joyce family appeared on the front page of The Timaru Herald on Friday.

They were encouraging readers to buy sensors for their caravans, because they believed such a sensor could have saved their 82-year-old father.

Ian Joyce died of carbon monoxide poisoning in the family's caravan at Lake Alexandrina in 2010.

The family's message seems to have got through, with some retailers having to order more sensors to keep up with demand.

Timaru Plumbing and Gas Centre sales consultant Don Ellis said that since Friday, he had fielded about a dozen calls, in stark contrast to the one or two a year that he normally received.

Mr Ellis has had to order more sensors to keep up with the "big demand".

He was pleased because it meant people were considering their safety.

"For $70, two years' worth of safety is pretty good."

Many people cited the death of Mr Joyce when they asked about the censors, he said.

Des Mulcahy Ltd director Pat Mulcahy agreed that Mr Joyce's story last week had sparked interest in the sensors, and even more importantly, it had increased awareness in the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Normally the plumbing company received no inquiries, but in the past couple of days it had had about five calls asking about the sensors.

Menzies sales consultant Julie Buchanan said the company had been receiving a lot more calls about carbon monoxide sensors than in the past and she expected it to continue.

"I expect the demand will increase as people become more aware about it."

She believed the devices should be compulsory because it was a small price to pay to save lives, she said.

Mr Joyce's daughter, Kerry Irvine, said she was really pleased to hear that people had been buying the sensors. "Whether it is just one or 100 people, it doesn't really matter, it still makes a difference."

- © Fairfax NZ News